C# | Copying the Collection<T> elements to an array

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025
Collection<T>.CopyTo(T[], Int32) method is used to copy the entire Collection<T> to a compatible one-dimensional Array, starting at the specified index of the target array. Syntax: 
public void CopyTo (T[] array, int index);
Parameters:
array : The one-dimensional Array that is the destination of the elements copied from Collection<T>. The Array must have zero-based indexing. index : The zero-based index in array at which copying begins.
Exceptions:
  • ArgumentNullException : If the array is null.
  • ArgumentOutOfRangeException : If the index is less than zero.
  • ArgumentException : If the number of elements in the source Collection<T> is greater than the available space from index to the end of the destination array.
Below given are some examples to understand the implementation in a better way: Example 1: CSHARP 
// C# code to copy the entire Collection
// to a compatible one-dimensional Array,
// starting at the specified index of
// the target array
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

class GFG {

    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Creating a collection of strings
        Collection<string> myColl = new Collection<string>();

        myColl.Add("A");
        myColl.Add("B");
        myColl.Add("C");
        myColl.Add("D");
        myColl.Add("E");

        // Creating a string array
        string[] myArr = new string[myColl.Count];

        // Copying the entire Collection to a
        // compatible one-dimensional Array,
        // starting at the specified index
        // of the target array
        myColl.CopyTo(myArr, 0);

        // Displaying the elements in myArr
        foreach(string str in myArr)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(str);
        }
    }
}
Output: 
A
B
C
D
E
Example 2: CSHARP 
// C# code to copy the entire Collection
// to a compatible one-dimensional Array,
// starting at the specified index of
// the target array
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;

class GFG {

    // Driver code
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Creating a collection of ints
        Collection<int> myColl = new Collection<int>();

        myColl.Add(2);
        myColl.Add(3);
        myColl.Add(4);
        myColl.Add(5);

        // Creating an integer array
        int[] myArr = new int[myColl.Count];

        // Copying the entire Collection to a
        // compatible one-dimensional Array,
        // starting at the specified index
        // of the target array
        // This should raise "ArgumentOutOfRangeException"
        // as index is less than 0
        myColl.CopyTo(myArr, -5);

        // Displaying the elements in myArr
        foreach(int i in myArr)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(i);
        }
    }
}
Runtime Error:
Unhandled Exception: System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Value has to be >= 0. Parameter name: destinationIndex
Note:
  • This method uses Array.Copy to copy the elements.
  • The elements are copied to the Array in the same order in which the enumerator iterates through the Collection<T>.
  • This method is an O(n) operation, where n is Count.
Reference:
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